


like a resting place

by abovetheruins



Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-02
Updated: 2010-05-02
Packaged: 2017-10-09 06:40:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/84151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abovetheruins/pseuds/abovetheruins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was cold, and wet. Absolutely miserable.</p><p>Featuring Kitty!Cookleta and hints of Kradam</p>
            </blockquote>





	like a resting place

He was cold, and wet. Absolutely miserable. He'd managed to huddle beneath the overhang of an old, run down apartment building when the storm had hit, and lay curled in a protective ball, knees pressed tight to his belly. Droplets of rain pelted him as the wind picked up, but it was better than nothing, better than being _out there_, in the dark and the rain and the strange human smells that soaked everything.

Tiny whimpers crept past his throat as he lay there, trying to stay warm. His tail was wrapped tightly around his waist, but the fur was damp, heavy. It did little to help his shivers. Archie just wanted to go home.

He hoped his sisters had made it out of the storm. Jazzy and Amber would be scared out here, with the lightning and the thunder shaking the ground. Claudia would protect them, keep them safe, but he sent a fervent prayer heavenward that they'd made it home, and that they would stay there, even after they realized he'd been left behind.

He hadn't meant to get so lost. He'd just... he'd gotten distracted. They'd been racing down the sidewalks, careful to stay out of the road, on their way home, dodging past the occasional human, when he'd heard really... well, beautiful music. He'd stopped right there, ears perking, eyes drifting to an open doorway. The smell of humans grew stronger as he neared it, and he'd carefully peeked in, being careful not to draw attention to himself.

It was some sort of restaurant, quiet, dimly lit. Something smelled wonderful, and his stomach rumbled, and really, he should have just turned away and raced after his sisters; there was yummy tuna fish and milk waiting for him at home, after all. But, no, like the curious cat that he was, he'd stayed, pushed all thoughts of hunger out of his head, and sought out the source of that pretty music.

It came from a piano, towards the back of the room, a big, beautiful one. There was a man sitting there, all black tux and elegance, his fingers moving gracefully over the keys. It was rather mesmerizing, and whatever he was playing was so lovely, and really, it wouldn't hurt to just stay there for a little while longer and listen, right?

It wasn't until the man had stopped playing and the last patrons had left that he'd realized it was well after dark. Panic had settled in his chest as he'd darted down the street, sniffing at the air and searching for a trace of his sisters, finding none.

_'Dang it,' _he'd thought, paws kicking up dust as he'd raced past now silent street corners, closed stores. _'I'm in so much trouble.' _His father was going to kill him. He'd be so late, and his parent hated for them to be out after dark. It was dangerous, they said. Alley cats came out at night, vicious, angry things with crazed eyes and mangy fur. Many a time he'd listened wide-eyed as his father told stories about them, how they'd attack you for encroaching on their territory, how'd they'd rip you to shreds in a heartbeat.

He'd shivered and pushed on, but storm clouds had rolled in, the rain had come pouring down, and his sisters' trail had disappeared.

So, here he was, sniffling into his paws, shivering with fear and sadness while he tried to press himself as far back against the cold brick wall as he could. He kept his eyes closed tight, ears pressed flat against his head, and hoped that no one, human or otherwise, could see him. He'd just have to wait out the storm, just stay here until it was over, and then maybe he could find his way...

"Hey, kid."

Archie sprang to his feet, back arching in surprise and fear, fur on end. His eyes darted about wildly, adrenaline firing rushed and dizzying through his blood. Oh gosh, there was someone there and he couldn't see them and it might be an alley cat and _oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh..._

"Hey, hey, calm down, kid." He felt something nudge his shoulder and jumped back, pressed as far into the wall as he could go, breath whistling through his nose.

"Who's there?!" His tiny claws unsheathed, looking way too nonthreatening but at the moment they were all he had, and he raised his paw in the direction of the voice. "I'm warning you, stay back! I'll...I-I'll attack, I will!"

A warm gust of air puffed past his left ear, and he snapped his head to the side. There on the steps, right _beside_ him, oh gosh, was another cat. A big cat, with mussed, tawny fur and bright eyes, paws crossed lazily over each other. A big, chuckling cat, at the moment.

Archie's ears fell flat against his skull. This...this cat was laughing at him! "W-what's so funny?"

The other cat just shook his head, still chuckling. He had a... a kind of nice laugh, actually. Warm, and low. Not exactly setting off any warning bells in his mind, but still. Archie had to be careful.

"It's nothing, nothing," the tawny cat said, tail swishing idly back and forth. "You're really, er, intimidating. Really, I'm feeling pretty threatened here. Mind putting those things away?"

Ok, so now Archie was sure this cat was laughing at him, but he withdrew his claws anyway, settling uncomfortably against the wall. He wrapped his tail around himself, guarded, still a little wary. This cat hadn't attacked him, but that didn't really mean anything. He could still be dangerous. "Who are you?"

The other cat grinned, ears flicking back and forth. His gaze was bright and playful. Archie found it kind of hard to keep his guard up.

"You can call me Cook." His voice had gone all low and warm, like before, and dang it, it was hard to remember that this cat could be bad news.

"Cook?" he asked, testing the name on his tongue. The other cat -Cook- nodded, looking amused.

"That's right. You gonna tell me your name, kid?"

Archie bit the inside of his cheek at that; he hated when people called him 'kid.' 

"It's, um... Archie." And ok, why was he even telling this cat his name? He should be running away from him, trying to get home. But... he looked out at the rain, felt a shiver of fear race up his spine. It was still pouring so _hard_, and all he could smell was the water, there was nothing familiar to guide him back...

"Archie, huh?" Cook murmured, settling his chin on his paws. "You're not from around here, are you?"

Archie thought that was kind of obvious, otherwise he wouldn't be out in the _rain_, thank you very much. But he just nodded, saying nothing. Then, because, really, he had to know or else he'd never relax-

"Are you a... um, an alley cat?" Gosh, that sounded so _dumb_.

And yes, Cook was laughing at him again.

"You could say that," he said, once his chuckles had died down. "Why do you ask?"

Archie lowered his eyes, shifting his paws. "Aren't you supposed to be all...um, well." He raised his paw, extending his claws, swiping the air weakly. "You know. Vicious, or something? Attacking me for being in your...territory?"

Cook snorted, stretching out his front legs, eyes bright with amusement. "Well, I was going to offer you some shelter from the rain, but, if you'd rather I, you know," and he raised his own paw, and, um, wow, those claws were definitely intimidating, "then I guess I could..."

"No! No, that's...that's not..." Archie trailed off, uncertain (and yeah, a little annoyed now). "You're teasing me, aren't you?"

"Hmm...maybe, maybe." Cook grinned, soft and slow, before getting to his feet in a kind of graceful lurch (however that worked). He tilted his head in the direction of the rain. "So, what do ya say, Arch?"

His ears twitched at the nickname, not quite sure he liked it, but Archie nodded, slowly, still a little unsure. "A-alright."

-

  
Ok, so Cook actually wasn't an alley cat at all. He'd led Archie right across the street, into a (much nicer than the one he'd been huddled against) apartment building, up three flights of stairs, to a door at the end of the hall, scratching at it and issuing a few gravely mewls.

Archie had just lingered behind him, still dripping a bit from their dash across the road, and almost jumped as the door opened, revealing a sleepy looking human (Cook's human?). And um, wow. Archie had to crane his neck to look at the human's face, he was so tall. He was rubbing at his eyes and pushing dark hair back from his forehead, and he eyes Cook with exasperation.

"Got caught in the rain, huh?" His eyes shifted to Archie, and the smaller cat tried hard not to flinch. The human's eyes were warm, though, and soft, and Archie could sense no hostility from him. "And you got yourself a stray too, I see."

Archie huffed in annoyance- he was so not a stray, ok- but Cook nudged him in the shoulder and darted through the door, twisting around the human's legs, and Archie raced in after him, not wanting to get left behind.

He found himself in a moderately sized living room, standing on cushiony carpet that felt rather nice beneath his paws, and finally there was no more rain, and he could finally, hopefully, get warm.

"Not so fast, you two." Archie yelped as he was lifted up into the air by two warm hands, tucked underneath the human's arm. He glanced down and saw that Cook was being grabbed as well, and giggled at the other cat's surly expression. The human seemed to notice it too. One thin, black eyebrow raised. "Oh, don't give me that look, Cook. I'm not letting you loose like that. And the drowned rat thing? Not a good look on you, buddy."

Cook growled and swiped a paw at the human halfheartedly, but settled into the crook of his arm and gave Archie a "what are you gonna do?" look. Archie grinned back at him, and felt a bit of warmth seeping back into his fur. It was nice, tucked into the human's arms, safe.

"Hey, Kris!" The human's chest rumbled against his side as he spoke, and Archie lifted drooping eyes just in time to see another human appear in a doorway off to the side, holding a worn looking guitar against his side. This one was smaller than the one holding them, but had the same warm, soft face, and Archie felt more at ease as their eyes rested on him.

"Cook bring home a stray?" he -Kris?- asked, setting the guitar against the wall with practiced ease. Archie sighed quietly -not a stray, dang it- but didn't protest as he was lifted into Kris' arms. Warm fingers scratched lightly under his chin, and Archie felt a purr building up in his throat, which was kind of embarrassing, geez.

"Yeah." The other human shifted Cook in his arms, scratching his head with black painted nails. "Could you help me dry 'em off?"

The next few moments were kind of a blur, but Archie remembered something soft being pressed to his fur, felt the damp, heavy feeling leave him bit by bit. Kris and the other human -Adam, he learned- placed them both in a well worn basket full of funny looking shirts, and it was so _warm_, and Archie didn't even think twice about snuggling up next to Cook, pressing his ear against the other cat's throat, because, hello, without Cook he would have frozen out there, or drowned or been eaten or something. Cook didn't seem to mind, just chuckled, nice and low, and closed his eyes.

Soft music drifted through the sleepy haze that was slowly pulling Archie farther and farther into sleep, and he raised his eyes to see Kris on the couch, fingers strumming the guitar's strings, eyes closed, peaceful. Adam was beside him, looking half asleep himself, his head on Kris' shoulder.

_'It's nice here.'_ The thought drifted sluggishly through Archie's mind. _'It's warm, and safe.' _He missed his family, and hoped they weren't too worried about him, but he kind of hoped he could, you know, come back here, sometime. He wondered if Cook would mind.

With a little yawn, his tongue curling against his teeth, Archie shook the thoughts away, and let sleep pull him in.


End file.
